Cold Weather Rving

Discussion in 'General Community Discussions' started by pianotuna, Feb 1, 2007.

  1. pianotuna

    pianotuna
    Expand Collapse
    Member

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2007
    Messages:
    1,175
    Likes Received:
    0
    Hi all,

    I'm wondering how cold it has to be before camping in an RV is unwise. I live in Canada and have used my RV in some extremely cold weather. My unit is a 25' class C diesel--and I do carry a generator so that I can use the block heater to allow starting.

    I also have been supplementing the furnace by using a 1500 watt heater.

    Are there any other "polar bear" Rv'ers out there?
     
  2. Cheryl Fuller

    Cheryl Fuller
    Expand Collapse
    Member

    Joined:
    Jun 24, 2005
    Messages:
    506
    Likes Received:
    0
    I wish we could RV in the winter - somewhere warm, as it reached -18 degrees here this morning. Hubby winterizes the motorhome sometime in Oct. We have had busted lines in it before because not all of the water was removed, even though the lines were blown out. It won't come out of winter storage until the end of April....
     
  3. pianotuna

    pianotuna
    Expand Collapse
    Member

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2007
    Messages:
    1,175
    Likes Received:
    0
    Hi Cheryl,

    So nice of you to reply! I've read dozens of your posts--perhaps some day we will bump into each other.

    My next RV trip is in one week from Regina, SK to Invermere, BC. I have the RV outside my house in preparation for the trip. It is currently -24 F (-31c). I don't have water in the tanks--and won't until the day I leave. I'll not use the hot water heater--but will have access in Invermere to a bathroom.

    I will blow the lines and rewinterize when I get back--in the mean time I have a 750 watt heater in the "basement" near the grey and black water tanks--and a 1500 heater for inside. (switchable to 750) I'll carry a third 1500 only heater as well. My generator is a Kipor TI 3500 so can handle up to 2800 watts. That lets me run one heater at 1500 and one at 750 (block heater is 750 too I think).

    Today I was able to get the RV up to 72F (22C) by running 3 1500 watt heaters. (I love to play with cords--as I don't have a 30 amp outlet anywhere in the house.)

    For the trip I'll leave the furnace at it's lowest setting when I'm not "in residence" and will plug in at every available opportunity to cut down on propane use.

    I have a rack at the back for the generator--and can run it while traveling if needs be, so even if I ran out of propane I'd have a "cushion" of about 7 hours before I'd have no heat other than from the engine.

    I've also discovered that the defrost setting on my Citation 25' Diesel is quite effective at warming the living quarters. I'm not quite sure why it works better than the "floor" setting--but I've measured the difference more than once.

    QUOTE(Cheryl Fuller @ Feb 2 2007, 02:15 PM) [snapback]5970[/snapback]

    I wish we could RV in the winter - somewhere warm, as it reached -18 degrees here this morning. Hubby winterizes the motorhome sometime in Oct. We have had busted lines in it before because not all of the water was removed, even though the lines were blown out. It won't come out of winter storage until the end of April....
     
  4. dog bone

    dog bone
    Expand Collapse
    Member

    Joined:
    Dec 16, 2003
    Messages:
    235
    Likes Received:
    2
    i try to due some winter camping. temp above 45 or so. trailer is about an hour away in a campground. nice to be in the mountains with nobody around. we bring bottled water for cooking and such. don't want to rewinterize, is that a word, everytime we go there.



    i put a post in the generator thread. campground shut down the electric for the first time. now i need to bring a generator with me.



    december was nice around here, but no electric. now we are starting to get to the winter.



    cheryl, i blow my lines out, but i also pump anti freeze thru them too.



    have a safe winter everyone. spring is just around the corner.
     
  5. dog bone

    dog bone
    Expand Collapse
    Member

    Joined:
    Dec 16, 2003
    Messages:
    235
    Likes Received:
    2
    that is not a bad idea about hot packs. hopefully the new gen will solve the problem altogether



    -24. now i don't feel so bad about 10. it's suppose to be about 9 on monday.working outside in that kind of temp with the wind chill is not alot of fun. i would rather be camping in it :lol:
     
  6. Texasrvers

    Texasrvers
    Expand Collapse
    Administrator

    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2006
    Messages:
    9,233
    Likes Received:
    743
    Brrrrrrrrr! Are you guys nuts? You are making me cold just reading your posts. Being from south Texas I cannot imagine trying to camp in such weather. Thanks but I'll take the 75 degree temps any day.

    PS I wasn't trying to be rude by calling you nuts--just trying for a little humor. If you like cold weather camping, go for it and have a great time. Lots of folks don't like our 100+ degree summers, but we are used to it.
     
  7. pianotuna

    pianotuna
    Expand Collapse
    Member

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2007
    Messages:
    1,175
    Likes Received:
    0
    Hi Texasrvers,

    Well, I must admit, the folks where I "store" my RV do think I'm a bit strange.

    I have used my unit at -33C with the tanks dry--and -26 with water in them. I don't think I'll do the "no water" route again ever as it was miserable having to cook and wash with bottled water for 6 days.

    On the other side of the thermometer I have been to Tempe AZ in the summer. At one point I had to leave the RV in the sun for two hours--when I got back inside the temp was +53C. I moved to a place where I could plug in and run the AC unit--and 6 hours later the temperature was still hovering at +43C. Too hot for me! If there is a "next time" I'll be sure to turn on my generator to keep things a little more reasonable.


    QUOTE(Texasrvers @ Feb 4 2007, 10:45 AM) [snapback]5987[/snapback]

    Brrrrrrrrr! Are you guys nuts? You are making me cold just reading your posts. Being from south Texas I cannot imagine trying to camp in such weather. Thanks but I'll take the 75 degree temps any day.

    PS I wasn't trying to be rude by calling you nuts--just trying for a little humor. If you like cold weather camping, go for it and have a great time. Lots of folks don't like our 100+ degree summers, but we are used to it.
     
  8. Cheryl Fuller

    Cheryl Fuller
    Expand Collapse
    Member

    Joined:
    Jun 24, 2005
    Messages:
    506
    Likes Received:
    0
    QUOTE(Texasrvers @ Feb 4 2007, 09:45 AM) [snapback]5987[/snapback]
    Brrrrrrrrr! Are you guys nuts? You are making me cold just reading your posts. Being from south Texas I cannot imagine trying to camp in such weather. Thanks but I'll take the 75 degree temps any day.

    PS I wasn't trying to be rude by calling you nuts--just trying for a little humor. If you like cold weather camping, go for it and have a great time. Lots of folks don't like our 100+ degree summers, but we are used to it.




    Texasrver - no offense taken...believe me, if it were up to me, I would haul my butt back to Texas in a split second!!! 75 degrees sounds like Heaven right now....
     

Share This Page